Difficult Times Lie Beyond
by Radioactive-Walrus
Summary: Harry gets a very unexpected, but not at all unwelcome visitor during his 6th year at Hogwarts. Now he might be able to save his parents from dying several years before, but can he? COMPLETED.
1. The Time Turner And The Bludger

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A/N- ok, this is my first Harry Potter Fan Fiction. I'm not exactly proud of stories I've written before, so I'm hoping I can do better on this one. Read and review please!

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Chapter 1

The Time Turner and The Bludger

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_Oh bloody hell..._

James Potter was pacing around his dormitory that he shared with his friends Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black, better known as Moony, Wormtail, and Padfoot.

_How could I let this happen? I must be the world's thickest git._

Remus was getting really tired of this. James was clearly overreacting again. "Prongs, just relax, okay? All you have to do is tell Lily that you can't-"

"But I already booked a table at the Three Broomsticks! Besides, I can't exactly miss_ Valentines Day _with my _girlfriend_. Lily would kill me!"

Silence broke over them again as James continued to walk back and forth. Tomorrow was Valentines Day and somehow James had managed to get a detention. "But Snape deserved it!" he tried to explain to Proffesor McGonagall. Obviously she wasn't convinced.

Sirius sighed. "Look mate. There's no other way out of this... Unless you skip detention of course."

"Dumbledore would skin him!" Peter gaped at his friend.

"I _could_ sneak out. I'd just need to get out the invisibility cloak and the marauder's map..." James considered this, but gave up on it. "It would be way too risky."

Remus sat in thought. In honesty, he _did_ know a way that James could pull this off, but he wasn't completely sure that his friend wouldn't get too carried away. On the other hand, he was incredibly sleepy and James' whining was really starting to get on his nerves. So why not then?

"Prongs..._Prongs! _Stop pacing for a moment! I'm getting motion sickness here! And anyways, I think I have a solution for you."

James stopped abruptly and waited for Remus to continue. _What's he going on about? _He wondered.

Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny golden hourglass attatched to a long chain. "I got a time turner from Proffesor McGonagall at the beginning of the school year. It's how I've been getting to all of my classes this year." Sirius smirked and muttered something that sounded like _"geek". _Remus glared at him before continuing. "I suppose I can let you borrow it for tomorrow so you can go to both your detention and your date with Lily. But I have to warn you about something. You _can not _be seen by McGonagall (or yourself, for that matter) under _any _circumstances. And don't be pulling any pranks with this either! It wouldn't be very wise."

James gaped and snatched the necklace from Remus' hands. "Moony, I could kiss you right now. I've always said you were a genious."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Just promise me that you won't do anything incredibly stupid."

"Well, that'll be hard to avoid. You can't exactly ask something like that of our friend Prongs here, now can you, Moony?" Sirius laughed. James shot him a look before lying down in his bed.

----

"Score! That's 90 to 20 for Gryffindor!" announced the commentator. Harry smirked at Malfoy as he flew overhead.

Harry soared over the Quidditch pitch on his firebolt, looking for any sign of the golden snitch, which was ridiculously hard to do due to the pummelling rain and harsh winds.

Lucky for Harry, his girlfriend Hermione was at the top of their class and was able to put a charm on his glasses to deflect the rain. It didn't help as much as he would have liked though.

Suddenly, a flicker of gold appeared near one of the Ravenclaw stands. Harry immediately shot through the sky towards it. The next thing he knew he was off his broom and falling fast. He had been hit by a bludger! Everything around him faded into darkness.

----

_It's about bloody time! _James thought to himself as he placed the very last polished trophy back into the trophy case. He had decided to get his detention over with first before going back in time to go to Hogsmeade. _Best to get the worst out of the way first._

McGonagall came in a short while later to tell James he could go. He headed off towards the broom closet near the front doors where he could go back in time. He figured that no one would see him if he used the time turner in there.

James pulled the thin gold chain out of his pocket and pulled it over his head as he walked through the 3rd floor corridors. Unfortunately for him, that's where he saw Snape. Severus sneared at him as he passed and had flicked his wand, but James hadn't been paying attention to him. He was too busy thinking about how his date with Lily was going to turn out.

"Alright, here we go." James turned the tiny hourglass back three times.

----

"You think he's all right?"

"Sure. He'll be fine. He's fallen from higher than that before."

"At least we managed to get to his broom before the Whomping Willow this time."

Harry opened his eyes. He could blearily make out the Gryffindor Quidditch team and Hermione standing around his bed in the hospital wing.

"How badly did we lose?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes and put on his glasses.

"Actually, we tied," explained Ron. "We have to reface Slytherin next weekend."

"It's better than losing to be sure, but not very much better," commented George.

"Madam Pomfrey wants you to stay over night. Luckily, it's the weekend tomorrow, so you won't be missing any classes." Hermione was sitting beside him on the bed.

"You call that _lucky?_" He asked as she kissed him on the cheek.

They visited and talked with Harry a while longer before Madam Pomfrey forced them all out of the room claiming that Harry needed his rest. For once, Harry agreed with her. He fell asleep a few minutes after they left the room.

----

A/N- And there you have it. Sorry it's so short. The next chapter will be longer, I swear!

Let me know what you thought of the story! (That means you, Jen:P)


	2. Seeing Double

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's characters etc.

A/N- I was kind of bored, so I decided to update the story again. I only have a few reviews so far (thanks for them, by the way!), but I guess that makes sense since I just wrote the story yesterday. I'm planning on making this chapter longer and more interesting (hopefully). Enjoy!

By the way, I'm aware that Harry and Hermione never hooked up in the books, I just decided to make it that way for my story. Sorry for any confusion.

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Chapter 2

Seeing Double

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James stepped out of the broom closet and looked around. _This can't be right. It's night time now. _James tried to spin the time turner again, but it had locked itself into place. _Well, isn't that just fabulous._

"_Potter!_" James spun around to face Proffesor McGonagall. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Er..." James stuttered. What happened to McGonagall's hair? _Maybe Sirious is right, and we really _are_ sending her to an early grave. _"...I'm...just on the way to the dormitories, Proffesor."

She looked at him curiously and nodded. _Perhaps a student accidentily cast a charm or something on her. Yes, that's got to be it_. James thought as the Proffesor strode away. Deciding that he should ask Remus about what went wrong in the morning, James climbed the marble staircase and headed back towards Gryffindor tower.

On the way, James saw a boy he had never seen before, and that's saying something considering how popular he was. The boy then pulled out his wand and cast a spell causing James to trip and fall onto the ground.

He got up hastily. "Whats your problem?" He asked the blond haired boy.

"_You're_ my problem, Potter. You and that mudblood girlfriend of yours!" he responded.

James gaped. How could anyone call Lily something so terrible? She had never been anything but nice to everyone.

James pulled out his wand to cast a hex, but once he looked up, the boy had already run off. _I'll have to get that filthy prat some other time then._

He walked back to the common room and strode right through to the boys dormitories. He was too tired to notice the change in appearance of the room.

----

Ron was the first up in his dormitory. It was very early in the morning. It was still slightly dark outside. He stretched and walked over to his trunk. _It would be a lot more peaceful in here if Harry would stop snoring already_. He stopped. _Wait a second..._

"Harry! What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to leave the hospital wing until later today!" Ron tried to rouse his friend. A head popped up from under the blankets.

James crossed his eyebrows. "Who the bloody hell are you?" he asked Ron.

Ron looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "Er, Harry? Are you feeling alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you fell off your broom yesterday! And what's more, your eyes are hazel now!"

James looked at him incredulously for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. When had he, _James Potter_, _ever _fallen off a broomstick? "I'm quite aware that my eyes are hazel, my friend. They've _always_ been hazel. By the way, I haven't had a Quidditch match for at least two weeks! How could I have fallen off my broom?"

"But Harry-"

"And I don't know who this Harry fellow is. I'm James Potter."

"Oy! Will you two keep it down?" complained Seamus groggily from across the room.

"Seamus! I need you to help me get Harry down to the hospital wing."

"For the last time, I'm not Harry! I don't see why I have to go to the hospital wing either." James was starting to get very annoyed.

"What's the matter with him?" questioned Seamus.

"I don't know. It must be amnesia."

"Amnesia? I don't have amnesia! Who are you guys anyways? Where are Remus, Sirius, and Peter?"

"You're right. He's lost it,"commented Seamus as he got up to help Ron get James out of the bed.

----

After a lot of struggling (and a hex or two), Ron and Seamus finally managed to get James to the hospital wing.

"All right, I think I can take it from here," Ron whispered to Seamus. He yawned and walked back out into the corridors leaving Ron with James.

Ron and James walked through the large room thinking that they were alone. Then someone rustled the covers from one of the beds. Ron jumped at the sound.

"Madam Pomfrey!" Ron called as he got to the office door and started to knock. There was no answer. He knocked a bit harder.

At that moment, Harry woke up and looked around trying to figure out who was making the racket that woke him up. He saw a blur of firey red hair. "'Morning Ron," he yawned as he reached for his glasses. He put them on an saw a desperately confused Ron staring at him from a few hospital beds away. He raised an eyebrow but quickly found out what had startled Ron as the boy standing beside him turned around.

"Bloody hell. I'm seeing double! I've got to get my eyes checked." Ron commented.

Harry's jaw dropped. "What the..." he trailed off. The other boy, who could've been Harry's twin, had a similar expression on his face. None of them spoke for a second.

"Who are you?" they both asked eachother.

"James Potter," said James_. I'm headed straight for the loony bin after this. _he thought.

Harry blinked as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Then a huge grin spread across his face.

"I can't help but feel like I'm missing something," said Ron.

"Likewise," James agreed. Then he remembered something. _The time turner_. "What's the date today?" he asked them.

"Er, it's February 15th 2005," said Ron.

James' jaw dropped again and he looked back at Harry. "Then...then...you must be..."

"Blimey! Ron! This is my Dad!"

"What! But Harry he's...How could...But he can't..._How_ is this possible!" Ron stammered.

A grin spread over James' face. "Bloody hell! I'm going to have a son! Who's your mother? Oh please let it be Lily."

"It is Lily," said Harry.

James whooped and did a little dance that made Harry laugh. Ron still seemed to be trying to grasp what exactly was going on. "But how the bloody hell did you get here?" he questioned.

"Well, you see, I had a date with Lily the same day that I had detention, so Remus let me borrow his time turner so that I could go to both. But, something went wrong..." He furrowed his eyebrows. "I was supposed to go _back _in time. Not forwards. And only by a few _hours_."

"Maybe it was busted?" suggested Harry.

"No...Remus has been using it the whole year. It wouldn't just break for no reason."

"Do you think someone tampered with it?" asked Ron.

James took the time turner out of his pocket and looked down at it. "Of course! I saw _Snivelly _Snape on the way to the front hall. He must have put a spell on it when I wasn't paying attention!"

Ron raised his eyebrows. "You'd better make sure he doesn't find out that you're here. He'd have a fit!"

"What? He's still at Hogwarts?" James was confused.

"He's our Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher." Harry said sullenly.

"That's too bad," commented James. Then he remembered something. "Hey Harry, what am I like as an old guy? And what about Lily? I always thought that she'd be a great mother."

Harry and Ron shot eachother nervous looks. "You'd better tell him." Ron said after a moment.

James looked at them curiously. "Are we...alright?"

Harry sighed. "You and mum...well...you both died when I was a year old."

James stood completely still for a moment. After the initial shock wore off he sat down and started to stare down at his hands. "How did...we...?"

"Voldemort," Harry responded quietly. "He also gave me this." Harry pulled the fringe of his hair away from his forehead. James walked over to get a closer look.

"You have your mother's eyes," he said with a small smile.

"So I've been told. Quite often, actually." Harry smiled.

James got up again and walked a few steps beside the bed. "So, what happened to Peter, Remus, and Sirius. Are any of them still around?"

"Remus is alive. Sirius died in the ministry of magic last year." A slightly angry expression came across Harry's face as he remembered Peter Pettigrew. "Unfortunately, Peter's alive too."

James raised an eyebrow. "Unfortunately?" he asked.

Harry told James the entire story from start to finish about how Voldemort killed his parents, and about Peter being a death eater. He then told James how Sirius was sent to Azkaban for attempting to kill Peter, and how Sirius died.

James was shocked, but Harry knew that he needed to know all of this. _Maybe...just maybe...I'll have my parents and godfather back by the end of this._

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A/N- So it's not as long as I really wanted it to be, but it's still a pretty decent length in my opinion. Don't be expecting an update until at least Sunday. (_mutters_ Stupid History homework). Anyways, I hope you liked the new chapter! Keep the reviews coming!


	3. Growing Suspicions

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's characters etc.

A/N- Thanks for all the reviews, you guys:D

You all make a spot on my "Awesome People" list. I'm still planning out how this story's going to turn out, and it looks like its going to be looong. By the way, the story is going to have a lot of spoilers from the 6th book.

Read and Review!

p.s. I noticed a plot hole in the second chapter actually. There's no way that James could've known the password to the portait hole. Oh well. I'm just going to say that Neville left it open or something.

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Chapter 3

Growing Suspicions

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Ron walked down to the Great Hall alone. Harry and James had left and gone to the headmaster earlier to figure out how to get James back to the past.

As a matter of fact, apparition lessons were starting on this particular Saturday. The rain outside beat against the tall windows of the hall as Ron entered. Proffesors McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Sprout stood at the end of the room with a thin man. Ron suspected that he was the apparition instructor.

A while later, Hermione and Harry entered. They took their places a few feet away from Ron. Ron had tried to ask where James had gone, but at that moment the ministry wizard stepped forth.

The hour of apparition lessons went by very slowly, and no one had been able to apparate to the destination they were supposed to. In fact, the only person who had managed to apparate at all was a girl from Hufflepuff named Susan Bones, but she nearly lost her leg when she did.

Harry started to become increasingly suspicious of Draco during the lessons. He kept on whispering to Crabbe and Goyle about something, but Harry was too far away to hear what it was.

----

"Harry! Hermione! Wait up, will you?"

The two stopped and waited for Ron to catch up.

"Mind telling me where your dad's gone?" He asked after catching his breath.

Harry paused. "Well, when me and my...er... When me and _James_ went to see Dumbledore, he told us that we ought not let anyone else see him. Wizards can get into a heap of trouble when they go messing around with time."

"Where did you put him then?"

"He's going to be staying around the Dark Forest until we can figure out what happened to the time turner."

Ron looked at him incredulously. "You're making _your own father _stay in the _Dark Forest_?" He paused and looked at either of them. "Are you mad? What if someone finds him? What if someone_ attacks _him?"

"Don't you remember, Ron?" Hermione spoke up. "James is an animagus. He can transfigure himself into a stag. We told Hagrid to look after him. He'll be fine."

"I didn't think it was that great of an idea either." Harry said after seeing Ron's worried expression. "But it's the best chance we've got for him not to get found out." He continued. "Do you have any idea what could happen if Snape, or even _Voldemort, _found out that he was here in the present?"

"You've got a point, I suppose." Ron shrugged.

----

Once they got to the common room, Harry remembered something.

"Did either of you two notice Malfoy acting a bit... strange during Apparition Lessons?"

They both shook their heads.

"I think he may be up to something."

"Probably trying to figure out a way to get us into trouble." Ron said absent mindedly as he reached for his Potions book.

Potions was especially irritating this year for both Ron and Hermione. You'd think it would have been a lot easier to stand now that Snape was teaching something else, but at the beginning of the school year Harry came into the possession of an old potions textbook. Apparently, a previous owner who called himself (or herself, according to Hermione) The Half-Blood Prince had left hundreds of tips and tricks written through the pages. Now Harry was at the top of the class. It made Ron feel rather stupid being around a brain like Hermione and someone as lucky as Harry.

"Well, whatever he's doing, I think I should keep an eye on him from now on."

----

The end of February came very quickly. Harry often visited James in the forest. He had a thirst to find out as much as he possibly could about his parents. There was something else that was bothering him as well.

"Proffesor, that mirror that I found in my first year... the one that shows what we desire... Do you think that... Does it _really_ show the future?" Harry asked Dumbledore during one of their private lessons.

Dumbledore focused his eyes on the pensieve on the desk and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "When I had first heard the story about the mirror," he began. "I was told this: 'There are many desires that each human has. The ones that are most likely to occur are shown within the mirror'." He looked up at Harry before continuing. "When I found out that you had seen your parents in the mirror, I immediately discarded that story. Now I realize, that there is a strong chance that it could be true."

----

The first of March came and went. Ron had nearly died after having a poisoned drink in Proffesor Slughorn's office. He and Harry were there to get an antidote for Ron who had accidentily eaten a love potion from Romilda Vane. It was actually given to Harry in the first place. Romilda was very jealous of Hermione for being Harry's girlfriend.

Harry was quickly becoming obsessed with matters concerning Draco. Whenever he looked at The Marauder's Map, Malfoy was no where to be seen and Crabbe and Goyle often stood for hours in the same spot away from everyone else.

----

"Draco... Is that the prat that attacked me a month ago?" James asked during one of Harry's visits. Harry nodded. "Perhaps you should leave the map with me? After all, I'd have a lot more time to watch what he's doing."

Harry had agreed and left the map with him. He walked out of the Dark Forest and pulled on his invisibility cloak. Harry had to visit James at night. It was starting to arouse suspicion in his classmates when he left the castle for hours at a time.

Harry trudged up the front steps and slipped through the door. _How am I going to keep my parents and Sirius from getting killed? I know there has to be a way._

----

The next day, Harry had Defense Against The Dark Arts right before lunch. Class was highly uneventful, which was rather strange since Proffesor Snape usually took every chance he could to make a fool of Harry. In fact, Snape hardly said anything at all during class. He gave them a pile of work to do and sat down at his desk, occasionally glancing up at the students and more often at Harry. After class, Harry found out why.

"Potter. Back here. _Now_," called Snape as everyone got up to leave. Harry was nearly out the door, but trudged back sullenly. "Now then," He began once the rest of the class had left. "Would you mind telling me what you were doing in the Dark Forest last night?" after seeing Harry's face turn pale, he continued. "Unless I'm mistaken, the forest is off limits to all students."

"I, I wasn't in the forest," Harry had decided to play dumb. It didn't work.

"I'm not a fool, Potter. I saw you at the edge of the forest last night through my window. I never saw you come back to the castle."

"I was in my dormitory for the whole night! Even ask Ron."

"Really now, Potter. I know for a fact that _Weasely _isn't going to give you away. Perhaps I should take a look down in the forest for myself?"

"No!" Harry shouted. "I, I mean...er..." he stuttered and bit his lip. _Nice going. Now he's going to find James_.

Snape raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe we should take a trip down there now then." Snape got up and walked towards the door. Harry followed behind trying to think up some excuse, but to no avail.

They walked by the Great Hall where the other students were enjoying lunch. A few people eyed Harry and Snape, but didn't seem to think anything of it.

The two swept across the grounds to the spot where Snape had seen Harry the previous night, before he had put on his invisibility cloak. They stopped and looked into the forest.

"You first," said Snape as he pulled out his wand. Harry had only taken a step inside before hearing a familiar voice.

"All right there, Harry? You usually don't visit here until night time." Harry froze. Then he relaxed a bit when he saw Hagrid passing through the trees towards them. "Oh, hello Professor. I didn't see yeh there."

Proffesor Snape looked curiously at the Care Of Magical Creatures teacher. "Do you mean to say that Mr. Potter has been down here after curfew often?"

"What? Oh no. Not after _curfew_." Hagrid attempted to defend Harry. "Harry just comes to visit me sometimes in the evenin'."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I saw him entering the forest last night." He wasn't letting Harry get away this time.

"Oh, well...Harry likes ta help me with some of me duties in the forest."

Proffesor Snape looked down at Harry, then at Hagrid and the forest. "Are you_ keeping _anything in the forest, Hagrid?"

"'Course not," Hagrid said confidently.

Snape looked around once again. Realizing he was beaten on this matter, he said "Very well then. You're dismissed, Potter." and he walked back towards the castle. _There must be something in there. I just know it. Perhaps I'll come by later tonight to see what Potter's up to._

Harry turned away from Snape's retreating back to look at the half-giant. "Thanks a lot, Hagrid."

"Anytime, Harry. You just be a bit more careful around Snape, all right?"

Harry nodded and hurried back across the school grounds to get some lunch. _I just hope Snape doesn't start looking into this more. I'll warn James about him when I visit tonight._

----

"We can't let him find me Harry. I think I need to find a better hiding place."

James was sitting on a boulder in the clearing where he visited with his future son. It was tough enough for him to be living alone as a stag for long periods of time. How could he possibly detatch himself even more from the world?

Harry crossed his eyebrows. What other place was there that he could hide his dad?

"Maybe the shrieking shack?" suggested James.

"If anything, that would be even more suspicious. I have an excuse to come to the forest to see Hagrid. What excuse could I have to go to the Whomping Willow?"

"Point," James noted.

There was a long silence where both 16 year olds wracked their brains trying to think of a new spot. Then Harry had an idea. He knew for a fact that the spot he was thinking of wasn't exactly the safest, but it was somewhere that Snape would never be able to go.

"It's perfect!" said James after considering the new spot for a moment. "You must have gotten Lily's smarts, Harry, because I _never_ would have thought of that!" he laughed.

"Well, we'd better get you there, then. Here get under the invisibility cloak. Snape might be coming soon."

----

_"Snape might be coming soon." _said a far off voice.

_Aha! Got him!_ Or so Snape thought as he entered the clearing.

"Potter!" he shouted. Harry spun around wide eyed. Snape walked around the clearing, then back to Harry. "Who were you just talking to?" he questioned.

Harry sighed inwardly. _That was way too close. _But he wasn't safe yet. "I was talking to...to..." he stammered and looked around. "Er...I thought I saw Hagrid in here, so I tried to call out to him. I guess I was just seeing things though." He ended lamely.

"You're not getting out of this one, Potter. Now what, or _who_, are you hiding out here?"

But Harry didn't even have time to make up a response. A bush near Proffessor Snape had just rustled violently. Harry's eyes grew wide. _Oh bloody hell, James. Why did you have to move? _He wondered. Snape looked at the bush, then back at Harry curiously. He wandered over to the bush and peered over it.

Before either of them had a chance to react, a wolf jumped out from the bush at Snape. Harry took this opportunity to get as far away from the clearing as possible. He was nearly out of the forest when he bumped into something he couldn't see and toppled over.

"James! Is that you?" He asked quietly. The boy pulled off the invisibility cloak to reveal himself.

"Quick! Get under! We have to get away from here. Snape will have figured it out by now."

"Right," replied Harry as they both dove back under the cloak. "Wait. What? Did you make that wolf appear?"

James chuckled. "An old prank that Sirius used on Snivelly once. The wolf jumps on you and just as it's about to attack, the entire thing turns into bugs. Mind you, it nearly got old Padfoot expelled."

Harry laughed. "You'll have to teach that to me sometime. Now come on, we have to get there before Snape finds out that I've gone."

The two boys ran as fast as they could (or as fast as possible when one is sharing an invisibility cloak) back to the castle.

----

A/N- Why does the word suspicion look like it's spelled wrong?

Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter. I bet you're just dying to see where the hiding place is eh:P Well you don't get to find out until I feel like writing another chapter! haha!

Well, you shouldn't be worried about that. I have no life so it shouldn't take too long for me to write Chapter 4.

Please review!


	4. New Roommate

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's characters etc.

A/N- Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews. I love reading them (keep sending them too, or else :D...

...just kidding)

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Chapter 4

New Roommate

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Harry and James entered the dormitory and fell over gasping for breath.

"I swear they must have added a few more staircases since I was at school," James panted.

Harry looked up and saw Ron and Dean looking around, hopelessly confused. Harry realized why and pulled off the invisibility cloak.

Rons eyes grew wide as he saw the two boys appear on the floor. "Harry! What...?"

"I've decided to keep him in here. The Heads of the Houses aren't allowed in another house's dormitory."

Ron looked at him as if he were a blast-ended skrewt. "Are you bloody mad? Do you know how dangerous this is?"

"Of course I do," said Harry as he stood up and brushed the twigs off his robes. "But any place that Snape can't go is good enough for me."

"You understand what this means though, don't you? Now three more people will know that your dad's--"

Dean cut him off. "Blimey! Harry! That's your _dad_?" he asked incredulously. Harry hadn't even realized he was there yet.

"Well, yes he is. Sort of," Harry tried to explain. Dean put on a confused expression. "I'll tell the whole story when Neville and Seamus get here. No point in repeating myself."

"But...Where's he going to sleep?" Ron asked waving his hand towards the rest of the room.

"I can handle that." James pulled out his wand and flicked at the other side of the room beneath the window. A small bed with red and golden sheets appeared along with a change of clothes for James. The others were pretty impressed. "A little trick I learned for whenever Sirius ran away from home to come live at my house." he winked.

----

The boys sat around and talked for the next hour or so. They ranted about Defense Against The Dark Arts class and spoke enthusiastically about Quidditch. James said he would try to come to see Harry's next Quidditch match against Ravenclaw.

Eventually, Neville and Seamus entered the dormitory with Hermione. It would have been an understatement to say that the boys were confused when they saw the new bed and it's occupant. Harry told them all to sit down as he began to tell them the story.

"But what happened to the time turner then?" asked Seamus once Harry was finished. "I mean, he _will_ be able to get back won't he?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say the hex will probably wear off soon. It's just a matter of time until it does." Hermione explained.

"But... shouldn't Harry have disappeared when his dad came to the present? After all, he wouldn't have been born... right?" wondered Ron.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "I guess that also takes a certain amount of time to happen too."

----

Snape got up and brushed the bugs off of himself. _Damn that Sirius Black. He must have taught that hex to Harry. I'll get you, Potter. _

He dashed out of the Dark Forest, bumping into Hagrid and falling back over again. He got up once again and turned to face the half-giant. "Hagrid! Have you seen him? Where did he go?"

"Professor Snape! What're you doin' out here? An' who're yeh talkin' about? The deer?" Hagrid asked him.

"What? What deer?" Snape asked, his eyes growing wide.

"Oh..I er..." Hagrid stumbled over his words. "There's been a lot of deer around lately...and I...er... Harry, well he...er...No, wait..."

Snape didn't have time for this nonsense. He had to find out where Harry went. _Maybe I can finally get him expelled once and for all. He'll be defenseless to the Dark Lord. _

"Hagrid, did you see where Mr. Potter ran off to?"

"Harry? I haven' seen 'im all night."

Snape walked back towards the castle. Where ever Harry had gone, he was definitely too far away to chase after by now.

----

"Mr. Potter!"

Harry nearly jumped out of his seat and looked up. He had been passing notes with Ron again in Transfiguration.

"What's that you're holding?" she nodded to the note clutched in his hands.

"I...er...just spare parchment, proffessor."

She looked at him with a questioning glance. "Really? And what would I find if I opened that spare bit of parchment? Not a note to Mr. Weasely, I hope?" she asked.

Harry opened his mouth then closed it again.

"Detention, Potter, and 5 points from Gryffindor," Proffessor McGonagall walked back to the front of the class room to continue the lesson. A few of Harry's fellow Gryffindor's glared at him for losing more points for their house. The rest of class was highly uneventful and ended with extra homework for Harry.

----

"Detention, eh? A true Potter," he chuckled.

Harry gave a weak smile to his future father as he finished up his Charms essay. "I'll see you later," he said as he closed the door to the dormitory.

_Great. Now I get to spend a few hours polishing trophies. Ruddy brilliant, Harry. _He thought to himself as he came to the trophy room just as he was instructed.

----

James created sparks in the ceiling with his wand for amusement as he watched the Marauder's Map. Draco had just entered one of the girl's lavatories. James looked at the map curiously when this happened, and chuckled to himself. _Maybe there's something we don't know yet about dear Draco_. He grinned._ I suppose I'd better tell Harry about it once he get's back from detention._

Ron entered a minute later after finishing his own Charms essay. "Hey James," he said wearily.

"Hey," replied James. "I bet homework was fun," he smirked as Ron glared at him, then chuckled as well.

"Don't rub it in," Ron said as he laid down on his bright red four poster bed on the opposite side of the room.

At that moment, the door burst open and Hermione and Seamus practically flew into the room.

"We have to hide you. _NOW_." said Hermione motioning towards James.

James frowned. "What's wrong? I don't see how--hey! Let go of me! I really don't think this is necessary. What's going on!" He asked annoyed as Hermione flicked her wand at the extra bed causing it to disappear.

"We've got trouble," Seamus explained hurriedly to James as he tried to pull him out of the room. "We think that Snape know's you're here."

"What? _How?"_

"Hagrid let it slip that Harry had been visiting a _deer_ and the forest. Snape's on his way here now, and I don't think that any rules of "not being allowed in another house's dormitories" is going to stop him." Seamus quoted.

James stuffed the Marauder's Map into his pocket and just as they were about to descend the stairs, they heard the portait hole slam closed and the Fat Lady remarking on "incredibly rude visitors".

"Sorry! I left the portrait hole open again!" said Neville as he trotted up the stairs.

"Oh bloody hell!" Seamus and James flew back into the bedroom with Neville and closed the door.

"What do we do? What do we do?" asked Neville in panic.

"I have an idea. Seamus! You're good at disguising charms, right? Change his eye colour quickly!" Hermione demanded.

Seamus obediantly pointed his wand at James. James felt a rush of blood to the head as his eyes started to sting. He nearly fell over.

"Now what? He still doesn't look like Harry! How are we going to give him the scar?" asked Seamus skeptically.

Hermione answered his question as she traced a tiny flaming lightning bolt in the air. It levitated towards James' face. His now green eyes widened.

"You're kidding, right? Bloody **Bloody** hell, please tell me you're joking." He asked as he attempted to back away from the flaming mark that continued to creep towards him. Seamus held onto his arm as the bolt planted itself neatly onto James' forehead. Surprisingly enough, it only pinched his skin a little bit before relaxing.

Hermione shoved the wand back into her robes and motioned for them all to disperse so they wouldn't look suspicious. The all obliged and sat in different areas of the room, attempting to look as casual as possible.

After a minute or so, Snape slammed the door open and looked around suspiciously at the four teens, muttering something about students leaving textbooks lying around that are easily tripped on.

"Something wrong, professor?" asked James, who was trying his very hardest not to grin. _The old git hasn't aged very well, now has he? _He laughed inwardly. _If only Snivelly could see the look on his face now._

Snape opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then he asked "Why is it that you've been visiting a deer in the forest, Potter?"

James raised an eyebrow. "This is what you burst into the Gryffindor tower for?" he asked. His own arrogance towards Snape was starting to surface. The other people in the room mentally smacked themselves in the forehead. Harry would _never_ talk to Snape like _this_.

"Answer me!" Snape demanded.

James opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything the Headmaster marched up the stairs and into the room. _Lucky save on that one_. James slid his hand into his shaggy black hair.

"Professor Snape! What may I ask are you doing in Gryffindor tower? To my office." He demanded. He clearly wasn't in the best of moods at the moment. Professor Snape spun to look at Dumbledore. "Now." said the Headmaster when Snape opened his mouth to retort. They both looked back at James as they left.

A few of the other Gryffindor students came upstairs.

"What happened, Harry?" asked Colin Creevey. "Why did Snape come to see you?"

James blinked as he realized that Colin was talking to him. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"We tried to slow him down, Harry. A bunch of us threw our textbooks on the ground for him to trip on." Ginny told him. James smirked.

"Thanks for that. We needed the extra time." The other Gryffindors laughed. James told them about what happened. He was starting to feel more at home as he soon became the center of attention again.

----

A/N: Voila! Chapter 4! I think I'm going to start updating every weekend now. You can blame my damn grade 10 homework for that. :(

Please review!


	5. Rapid Hope Loss

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's characters etc.

A/N- Hey hey! Thank you so much for the reviews! Sorry I'm so late with this chapter. I skipped thanksgiving weekend...mostly because I had no idea what to write...well, here's chapter 5! (finally) It's kind of a darker chapter than what I usually write (Well, in the first half anyways). I tried to put a bit more detail into it as well. Enjoy!

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Chapter 5

Rapid Hope Loss

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"I can't believe you said that to my Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher," Harry complained the next morning. "Bloody hell! He hates me enough already, James!"

James chuckled and grabbed some toast. Harry had brought him some food from the Great Hall for breakfast. This was when James told Harry all about the night before. Needless to say, Harry wasn't impressed. James was about to speak in his own defense when Hermione interrupted. She always brought James some pumpkin juice in the morning. He figured that since she was Harry's girlfriend, she was trying to get on his good side.

"You two had better start thinking about more important matters," Hermione said. She turned to Harry before continuing. "Unless you already have a brilliant plan for saving your Dad."

Harry leaned over and grabbed a piece of toast off of James' plate. "Well," he said with his mouth full of toast. "All we have to do is get Dad to convince Sirius not to switch secret keeping with Peter, or he could just stop being friends with Peter once he gets back. Then Peter will never have the chance to sell my parents out to Voldemort."

Hermione thought about this for a minute. "By the way, James, have you checked the time turner lately? The hex might be wearing off soon."

James took the turner out from under his pillow and tried to turn the hourglass inside. The hourglass only moved slightly before quickly spinning back to it's original position. "It's loosening up a bit, but at this rate it won't be working again for at least another month." James sighed and leaned against the wall beneath the window. "I've never been away from Lily for this long before..."

They remained quiet for a moment before Hermione spoke up again. "But Harry... what about your scar? You Know Who will never have given you some of his powers if he never gets to ...well... do away with your parents."

Harry thought about this. _Well, if I never got Voldemort's powers, then I wouldn't have been able to get into the chamber of secrets. Plus, my mother would never have cast that enchantment on me that keeps Voldemort from touching me, so I wouldn't have been able to beat Quirrell. Plus, Voldemort cast the Avada Kedevra curse on me when I was a baby, so I would have died and never would have even gone to Hogwarts. So by now Voldemort would probably be ruling the entire wizarding world **and** the muggle world. But then that just leaves one thing..._

"How on earth am I supposed to get my scar, the enchantment from my mother, **and** keep both her and James from getting killed?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, we'd better figure something out. I want to be alive to raise my own son with my wife." said James as Harry traced his fingers over the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. He noticed that the fake magic scar that Hermione gave to James had finally worn off. James was smiling grimly.

Hermione stared off into space. "I could check the library for some ideas, but I doubt that books are going to be much use here."

----

It was a Saturday, so Harry had apparition lessons with the other 6 years. It was another pointless class and Harry achieved nothing except bruises from spinning and falling over so many times. Nobody else seemed to have gotten much better either. Susan Bones was terrified to try to apparate again in case she lost her other leg. Once class was over Harry returned to the dormitories feeling very miserable. He had more to worry about than apparition lessons. He found James, Hermione, and Ron in the bedroom.

Hermione smiled when she saw him. "Hello Harry. Ron and I are going to go to the library today to look up old enchantments. We think that there might be a way to save Lily without having her die." Harry nodded as she and Ron left the dormitory and started down the stairs of Gryffindor tower.

Harry sat down on his bed and looked to James. "Got any ideas?"

"Just a few," James replied. "And they're not very good ones."

"Let's hear them then. Maybe we can build off of them." Harry suggested.

"Okay then," James agreed. "Well, perhaps we could find some way to clone Lily and have the clone enchant you. Do you know any cloning spells?"

"I don't think there is such a thing James," Harry laughed. "We're lucky that magic hasn't gotten that far yet or else we might be facing fifteen hundred Voldemorts instead of just one."

"Point." James sighed. "Well, what if someone who really cares about you takes a Polyjuice Potion to look like Lily and then they die for you?"

"That's a terrible thing to do to someone. Besides, I don't want anyone else I care about to die." James stretched out on his bed. "Are those the only ideas?"

"Unfortunately. You got any better ones?"

"None that can keep the two of you alive." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Maybe Hermione and Ron will figure something out in the library. It seems to be our best chance for now."

----

The day was completely wasted for all 4 Gryffindors. James and Harry weren't able to come up with any plans that were even remotely possible without having someone die. Hermione and Ron didn't have much luck either. Apparently, the enchantment that was used on Harry could **only** be used if the caster is dying.

"Sorry Harry," said Ron once they had all met up again after dinner.

Harry sighed. "We have to keep looking. I'm not going to let either of my parents die now that I have the power to stop it."

Hermione sat down next to Harry and grabbed his hand. "At least after this is over, you might not ever have to see the Dursleys again." Harry looked at her with a questioning expression. "Remember? James only died because he was at the house when You Know Who came..." She trailed off, but Harry picked up what she was saying. It didn't seem to reassure James though.

"I would never leave Lily to die alone," He said. There was no emotion in his face except for the fear in his hazel eyes. "We _will_ find a way to save her."

That was it. They would have to conjure a plan to save Lily. No excuses. Unfortunately, none of them could think of anything better than the Polyjuice Potion idea. Their time was slowly staring to run out. By the end of May, the time turner was almost back to normal, and James would have to go back as soon as possible or else Harry could disappear from Hogwarts and never have been born.

----

The weather was starting to become warmer and warmer as June arrived. It stopped raining as much and students spent a lot of time outside when they weren't doing work or revising for exams, OWLs, and NEWTs.

On one Sunday, it was particularily warm. The grey mist that had sprung up during the last summer still hung about, but it seemed to have subsided a bit as Harry and James wandered down to sit by the lake. James was disguised to look like Ron by using a polyjuice potion that Hermione had made for him a month before.

James felt great to be out of the dormitory for the first time in months. He and Harry talked and laughed. They hadn't been watching out for Malfoy very much in the recent weeks, but they had better things to worry about. This didn't change the fact that Harry was still very curious as to where Draco had been going though. Later on in the day, the two teens decided that Harry should find Hermione and help her look up enchantments in the library.

Harry walked through the silent aisles of books. He couldn't see how Hermione could spend such long periods of time in such a boring place. He saw a few students actually sleeping with their noses in their books; including his best friend's little sister, Ginny Weasley.

Harry finally found Hermione at the far side of the library. She wasn't hard to spot and Harry wondered why he hadn't noticed her before. She was hunched over a towering pile of books and Harry could only see the top of her bushy brown hair. He came over and sat down next to her noticing the grin she had on her face as she read through a rather large book. She didn't seem to notice him as he tapped her on the shoulder.

He leaned over and lifted the book to see the title _Advanced Potion Making Volume 3: Poisons and Antidotes_. He looked a the book on the table in front of him. _The Unforgivable Curses_. He noticed that it had a book mark near the end.

"Are you sure you're not a Death Eater?" Harry joked.

Hermione snapped out of her trance and looked up at him. "Oh, hey Harry," She was still grinning broadly. "I think I've stumbled onto something that you might find interesting." She winked and reached for the book of unforgivable curses. She opened it to the bookmarked page and pointed.

"The Avada Kedevra Curse," Harry read quietly. "So what?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Read it," she instructed.

He did as he was told. The first paragraph told about the origins of the curse. The next was about what it did when it was cast on someone. _I didn't think they would need a whole paragraph just to say "It kills them". _He thought to himself and rolled his eyes. _What's the point of this anyways? I know all about the curse. I don't see **why **Hermione... _

Something at the bottom of the page caught his eye. He read through it.

_"NOTE: The curse will only fail if the victim is already dying from a different and unrelated ailment. This can include any of the following:_

_1. Disease/Cancer_

_2. Life threatening wounds_

_3. Poisons_

_4..."_

Harry looked back at the book that Hermione was already holding, then back at the book in his own hands. His eye's grew wide. "You aren't thinking of making my Dad do what I think you're thinking of making my Dad do, are you?" he asked her.

Hermione blinked. "Could you repeat that please? In English this time, if you don't mind."

"You think that we should poison my Mum? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? What if she dies before Voldemort even gets there? What about if it works? How would she be cured? What if-" Harry would have continued rambling on like that for hours if Hermione hadn't interrupted.

"Harry...Harry, I..._Will you please listen to me_!" Harry finally shut his mouth but his face was becoming a deep hue of red. "Now then," she continued. I found a poison in this book," she turned the book for Harry to see and pointed at a passage labeled _The Hanging Man Poison_. "This poison will keep the victim alive for 24 hours. They will feel no pain, and won't even know that they've been poisoned. There's also an antidote for the poison. It has to be given to the subject within the last 6 hours. Once they take the antidote, then they'll be completely cured."

Harry's face returned to it's original colour, but he was still very upset. "I am _not_ going to have my Mum poisoned, Hermione. There has to be another way."

"Harry, be reasonable! This is the safest way we have to save both of your parents!"

He frowned. "Is there any chance that the killing curse will still work?"

"Everything should go perfectly as long as she's given the potion at the right time."

"Will the curse still work, Hermione?"

She bit her lip. It wasn't a good idea to get someone like Harry upset. "There's a very low chance that the potion will backfire. It has to be made by an expert."

Harry continued to glower. "We should talk it over with James," He suggested after a minute or two. He absolutely hated the idea of putting his mother in danger like this, but if James gave it the okay, then he would have to accept it.

----

A/N- Ta da! Chapter 5:D

I think I'm getting better at writing!

Remember kids, keep sending reviews or I'll "stab your eyes out with a flaming stick" (quoted from Merissa :P)


	6. Farewell

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's characters etc.

A/N- Thank you to everyone who sent me a review! **(Important Note: The last few paragraphs of this chapter are taken directly from HBP. I do _not_ take credit for writing it myself. I just felt it was necessary to add it in.)**

**Jennypoo**: -shakes fist at Jen-. By the way, you were right. I did call Hermione 'him' at one point ;P (I fixed it)

**Zedude**: Harry would have died as a baby if his mom didn't enchant him. When Voldemort tried to kill him, he lost his powers because of the enchantment.

**dancegirlem24**: It wasn't too hard to come up with it. I just made up the idea for my story that you can't be killed if you're already dying. In the actual Harry Potter story, you would probably still be killed by Avada Kedavra even if you were already dying from something else.

**fenderbender505**: You'll just have to keep reading to find out ;)

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Chapter 6

Farewell

----

"You want to do _what!"_

Hermione sighed and tried to explain for the fourth time. James had been interrupting her since she first told him that they should have Lily poisoned.

"James,_ please!_ She can be cured. You just have to give her the antidote in the last 6 hours. She has 24 hours to live after you give the poison to her."

"But what if the Avada Kedavra curse still works?" He asked.

Harry was leaning against the wall of the dormitory. "There's a chance that the curse will still work." He shot a look at Hermione.

"Look, you lot, this is the best chance we've got. Unless you both want to spend another month looking for a different solution, then I suggest that we use it." Hermione glared at the two Gryffindor teens.

"No. I'm not going to have my girlfriend poisoned." James stated simply.

Harry looked back at Hermione. "Told you he wouldn't go for it."

"Would you rather have her die?"

The room fell silent. The setting sun shot rays of gold and pink into Gryffindor tower. Many of the students would just be heading down to the Great Hall for dinner.

James was nearly inaudable when he spoke again. "There has to be another way." He bowed his head in thought. "I think I'm going to need some time to think about this. Why don't you two go get something to eat?"

----

"Hey Harry," said Ron as Harry and Hermione sat across from him at the long wooden table. "You two alright?" He asked as he looked up from his meal.

"Hermione found a way to possibly save my mum. We just told James." explained Harry.

Ron's eyebrows raised slightly. "Well that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Well, it might end up killing her anyways-"

Hermione cut him off. "But it's the best chance we've got."

Ron looked at the two of them and shrugged. "Well, it's up to James then, I suppose."

----

The trio finished their dinner later than usual. They wanted to give James more time to decide whether or not to use the poison. They climbed the marble staircase in silence. It was now dark outside and silver wisps of mist passed outside of the tall windows.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the boys' dormitory, they found James staring out the window. His bed was gone. He turned around to look at them when the door closed.

"The time turner's working again," he informed them. "I should be going," he said sullenly.

"Have you decided whether or not to use the _Hanging Man_?" asked Harry.

James nodded reluctantly. "I think I'd better do it. I don't see any other option," He turned to Hermione. "Did you write it down?" He asked her.

Hermione pulled a folded piece of parchment out of her pocket and handed it to James. "I'm sorry that you have to do it."

"It's for the best," said Harry.

"It's been great getting to know all of you," James smiled. "Can't wait to see you all again someday."

"Well come on then," said Hermione. "We'd better get you down to the broom closet."

James put on Harry's invisibility cloak and followed him and Hermione down the many staircases to the broom closet. Once he was inside with the dusty broomsticks, he took off the cloak and turned to the two.

"Send us an owl when it works," Harry instructed him.

James laughed. "I'm not sure if I'll remember that in 10 or 15 years. Actually, I'm sure I'll forget it as soon as I get back."

"Just make sure that you don't lose that parchment" Hermione giggled.

"And it would be best not to tell Mum about any of this. That could ruin everything."

"Right then," James grinned. "I'll see you in a bit!" He winked. Hermione put an enchantment on the turner to go backwards in time by several years. James said one last goodbye and spun the hourglass.

----

James opened the closet door a bit and a sliver of golden sunlight shone through. He was back. He made sure that the coast was clear and exited the castle to join the rest of the students going to Hogsmeade. Thankfully, he was able to slip past Professor McGonagall without being noticed. After all, he was supposed to be polishing trophies at that moment. He quickly found Lily and joined her in the large crowd.

"There you are, James! I haven't seen you all morning." She gave him a kiss on the cheek which he returned.

"Yes, I know. I feel like I haven't seen you for months." He replied. Lily smiled up at him and he grinned down at her with only 2 words on his mind._ Lily Potter_.

----

Harry stared into the empty closet. "Do you think it worked?" He asked Hermione. He turned around and stared expectantly at the closest window.

Hermione and Harry walked back towards the staircase. "I'll bet that James forgot all about sending an owl," she laughed, but Harry wasn't reassured. Everything felt the same as it did before James left. Wouldn't something be different now if the plan had worked? What if both of his parents were still dead? He decided to wait until the mail delivery the next morning before he started to lose hope.

The couple bumped into the head of Gryffindor on the way back to the common room. "Mr. Potter," McGonagall began. "Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied as she walked away. "I'll see you later then, Hermione," he kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for all your help today."

"Isn't it great to have such a brilliant girlfriend?" She grinned and continued towards the common room.

"Only when she's not making me study for exams," Harry called after her.

----

Harry stood outside Dumbledore's office. _I wonder what Dumbledore wants me here for? He usually gives me a letter when I have a lesson with him. Perhaps he's found one of the horcruxes he was telling me about? _He knocked on the door. _Whatever it is, it must be important_.

"Come in, Harry"

He entered and saw the Headmaster standing by his desk.

"Is everything alright, Professor?"

"Yes Harry. Everything is quite well." Dumbledore looked at him seriously for a moment. "Harry, do you remember the horcruxes we learned about a few months ago?"

"Yes. Voldemort made six horcruxes. In each horcrux is a part of his soul and he can't die until all of them are destroyed."

"Exactly. Now remember I've already destroyed one of them, so there's only 5 more."

Harry suddenly became very curious. He already knew about all of this, so why was Dumbledore procrastinating like this? "Headmaster...Did you find another horcrux?"

"I did, Harry. Now, if you wish to come with me to obtain it, then you must promise me to do exactly as I say."

"I will, Professor."

"Good. I'd like you to bring your invisibility cloak as well." Harry nodded.

----

Harry and Dumbledore left the castle and walked to Hogsmeade. It was very chilly outside and there were no stars in the sky. Dumbledore took Harry to the Hog's Head.

"It will not be necessary for us to enter," muttered Dumbledore, glancing around. "As long as nobody sees us go... now place your hand upon my arm, Harry. On the count of three. One - two - three ..."

Harry turned. At once, there was that horrible sensation that he was being squeezed through a thick rubber tube; he could not draw breath, every part of him was being compressed almost past endurance and then, just when he thought he must suffocate, the invisible bands seemed to burst open, and he was standing in cool darkness, breathing in lungfuls of fresh, salty air.

----

A/N- Send a review, or I'll kill Lily, James, and Sirius! >:D -maniacal laughter-

By the way, I'm not joking.


	7. Survival and Betrayal

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's characters etc.

A/N- Thanks to everyone who reviewed again! w00t! I have over 50 now! I'm going to make this chapter extra cool just for you guys...and for the people that I threatened...lol. (Gosh it's fun to threaten)

Sorry for being so late on this chapter. I had 2 huge projects on the weekend and haven't been in a very good mood. You wouldn't want me in a bad mood when I'm writing. I tend to "kill" people that way. ;)

_**This Is My Major Spoiler Warning. That means that if you read this chapter, then you'd better hope that you read the book already because...well...SPOILERS! (in all capitals too!)**_

_**NOTE: Once again, I have taken a direct quote from the Half-Blood Prince. I give J.K. Rowling full credit for writing it since I did not. Don't sue me. (It's been changed slightly for my story).**_

**To all the people who told me not to kill off characters:** lol. You'll all just have to wait and see what happens ;)

**Jennypoo: **You shall never smite me from beyond the grave, for I am immortal! Muahaha! Fear the Dark Dragon! >:D

**James Jago:** But still, if they made Dumbledore the secret keeper, then Harry still wouldn't get Voldemort's powers and Voldemort would still be running around ruling the world!

**Nooka:** hmm... never thought about the horcruxes... but then again, I'm (for the most part) making this story up as I go, so we shall see ;)

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Chapter 7

Survival and Betrayal

----

It was a long night and Harry wasn't sure if he would ever get to sleep. He tossed about in his bed going over the events that occurred after James left. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to accept it.

When he got to the coast, Dumbledore had led him into a cave where he used a blood sacrifice to open a door. They had climbed into a boat over dark water. The Headmaster had warned him several times not to touch it. All that Harry could see was the green glow that came from the center of the dark lake. Upon reaching the source of the light, he and Dumbledore stepped onto a small sort of island to find a basin sitting atop an elegant stand. The glow was coming from a green liquid inside of the bowl.

The Headmaster came to the conclusion that the horcrux must be beneath the liquid, and the only way that they could get it is to drink the liquid. Dumbledore made Harry promise to force him to keep drinking the liquid until they could reach the horcrux, and Harry did so; against his better judgement. They soon reached the horcrux; Slytherins locket. Harry eventually realized that it was a fake though. The agony that Dumbledore went through from drinking the green liquid was all for nothing.

Harry and Dumbledore apparated back to Hogsmeade where they met Madam Rosmerta. That's when she pointed out the Dark Mark that was hovering above Hogwarts. It was a skull wreathed in green flame with a snake twisting out of its mouth. Dumbledore was very weak, but he and Harry needed to get back to the castle as soon as possible. They borrowed Rosmerta's broomsticks and made their way to the castle. Harry had put on his invisibility cloak.

The two wizards made their way to the top of the astronomy tower, where the Dark Mark was the closest. After landing, Dumbledore told Harry to get Snape and Harry did so... Or he would have, anyways. Someone was climbing the stairs, so Harry waited on top of the tower with his invisibility cloak on. Dumbledore cast a spell to immobilize Harry just before he had his own wand removed.

That's when Draco came onto the top of the tower. There was a battle going on inside of the castle between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix and DA. Draco and Dumbledore conversed for a while. Apparently, Draco had become a Death Eater and was sent to kill Dumbledore.

Soon, more Death Eaters including Fenrir Greyback the werewolf were with Draco on the roof. Then Snape came forth. It shocked Dumbledore when he saw Snape betraying him. The Headmaster had always trusted Snape; nobody seemed to have any idea why. It was then that Snape shouted "_Avada Kedavra!_". The curse caused Dumbledore to fall off the edge of the tower, although he would already be long dead by the time he hit the ground below. Snape, Draco, and the rest of the Death Eaters were able to escape.

After meeting up with his friends again, Harry discovered that no one died, but Bill Weasley had been attacked by Fenrir. Harry met briefly with McGonagall before heading back to his dormitory for the night.

----

The students were going to be sent home after Dumbledore's funeral which would be a few days later. Harry once again remembered James. He wondered if he would be arriving at a different home when he left the school with the other Hogwarts students.

Harry sat beside Hermione during the funeral. He knew he was going to have to talk to her about this sooner or later.

"Hermione, listen..." he said very quietly, as the buzz of conversation grew louder around them and people began to get to their feet. "I can't be involved with you anymore. We've got to stop seeing eachother. We can't be together."

She said, with an oddly twisted smile, "It's for some stupid, noble reason, isn't it?"

"It's been like ...like something out of someone else's life, these last few weeks with you," said Harry. "But I can't ...we can't ...I've got things to do alone now." She did not cry, she simply looked at him. "Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to. Think how much danger you'll be in if we keep this up. He'll know, he'll find out. He'll try to get to me through you."

"I understand," said Hermione calmly. She looked out across the lake.

"Friends?" asked Harry when she said nothing else.

Hermione looked back at him and smiled. The tears from the funeral were still shining in her brown eyes. "Friends," she said.

----

The students all climbed aboard the Hogwarts express a few days later. Harry was still furious about Snape and Draco, but curiosty overcame him on the trip home.

"Do you think it worked? With James I mean." Ron asked Harry, who had been silently staring out the window for most of the trip.

Harry looked back at him. "Honestly," He began. "I don't think it worked. I never got an owl-"

"James likely forgot," Hermione tried to assure him.

Harry was still disbelieving. "I don't know. Everything feels the same as it did before he came here." He sighed and returned his gaze to the fog laced hills that ran by the window of the train. "I just wish I could've met my Mum too."

----

Harry waited with Hermione and Ron at the train stop, expecting to see his Uncle Vernon lumbering around somewhere. Soon, Harry's friends had left and he stood in the crowd of people, waiting for Vernon to get there already. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.

"Mr. Potter, I presume?" Harry recognized his uniform. He was a driver from the Ministry. _Well, it's no wonder that they want to get me home safely. _Harry thought. He followed the man outside of the station and loaded Hedwig and his suitcase into the special Ministry car.

When the car started, Harry asked "This might sound strange... but where are we going?"

The man craned his neck around the seat to look at Harry curiously. "To your house, of course."

Obviously, this didn't answer Harry's question, but he figured that he would find out soon enough. Harry's heart sank as he soon realized that they were driving in the direction of the Dursley's house. Harry got ready to get out of the car as he saw the house approaching, sending the dream of meeting his parents far behind.

"Good day to you, Mr. Potter," said the man from the Ministry of Magic before driving away. Harry stood for a moment and looked at the house. _After all that time, nothing has changed_. He thought miserabley. He had his head bowed slightly as he picked up his suitcase and Hedwig's cage and shuffled towards the door. He rang the doorbell while concentrating on the 'Welcome' mat under his feet.

"Hello Harry. It's good to see you again."

Harry frowned. Since when was _any_ of the Dursleys _happy_ to see _him_? He looked up with a quizzicle expression before his jaw dropped. Standing in front of him was none other than Sirius Black, his godfather.

"But... how did... but when... you..." He stuttered as Sirius ushered him inside.

"Your aunt and uncle are out shopping." He explained. Harry was still struggling for words.

"But... you were dead, Sirius."

Sirius grinned. "That's right. I was. But when James came back to the past, I was once again alive. He warned me about my death in the Ministry of Magic when we were young."

Harry looked at his godfather in thought. "But... Mum and Dad! Are they alright?"

"I'm..." Sirius began. "I'm afraid not, Harry. The plan didn't work." He looked down at Harry sympathetically.

Harry's stomach hit the floor. "What happens now, then?" He asked with a stitch in his chest.

"Well, if you'd like, you can come to live with me at my house."

Harry tried to smile. Even if he still didn't have his parents, at least his godfather was back. It wasn't all for nothing. But try as he might to hold onto this thought, he still felt regret at having let James and Lily down.

----

A/N- I've already got the next chapter planned out. Don't hate me for this you guys. -runs away from mob of angry fans with wands-


	8. The End Of The Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's characters etc.

A/N- I'm hoping to make this my last chapter. I can't write long stories. I need to move onto other fanfics. :P

Sorry if this chapter is really short.

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Chapter 8

The End of The Beginning

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"We should get going then. We're already late," Sirius noted as he looked at the clock hanging on the Dursley's kitchen wall. Harry looked at him curiously, but Sirius just shook his head. "We'll be travelling by floo powder."

Harry followed his god father into the living room with his things. _Well, it's not all bad_. Harry noted. _I'm going to be living with Sirius! I'll never have to see the Dursleys again! _He grinned as he stepped into the fireplace.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place looked a lot better than how Harry remembered it. It was much cleaner than it had been before. The Weasleys and Hermione sitting at the kitchen table only added to the now homey looking house. Mrs. Weasley was cooking in the kitchen. Percy, Bill, and Charlie were the only ones absent.

"What are all of you doing here?" Harry asked, excited. He sat down at the end of the table.

"We just came to welcome you to your new home," said Hermione.

"Yeah. And also to-" Fred was cut off. Mrs. Weasley had just emerged from the kitchen and used a silencing charm on him. Fred flailed his arms, then crossed them and stared at his mother. She lifted the charm. "That's not a very nice way to treat an inventor, Mum."

"Well, it wouldn't be if you were inventing something useful," she replied, getting a laugh from everyone at the table except for Fred and George. "Supper's ready everyone!" She gestured towards Sirius.

Sirius got up and walked over towards the stairs. "Supper's ready!" he called.

Harry looked at him curiously. "Who else is here?" He asked Ron. The boy with flaming red hair just smirked at him before turning towards the food.

They began to eat. It had already been several minutes, and still no one had descended the stairs into the room. The suspense was nearly killing Harry. "Sirius, who were you calling to before?" Harry's godfather swallowed his food and was about to speak when footsteps were heard behind them. Harry turned and almost fell out of his chair. _It couldn't be..._

"Hello Harry," greeted the red haired woman. She sat beside him. Harry just stared at her in awe. Next, came an older man with greying hair and glasses. He sat beside Lily.

"But... You... Sirius said... I thought that ...I don't believe this..." He stammered as he spoke to his parents for the very first time. Well, one of them anyways.

"Surprise!" said Sirius with a grin.

Lily reached over and gave Harry a hug and a kiss on the head. It was quite possibly the happiest moment in Harry's young life. He hugged her back. "I guess you forgot about sending me an owl, Dad?" he said.

James blinked. "I _knew_ I forgot to do something! Oh, I'm sorry Harry. It would have ruined the surprise anyways." he winked.

Harry hugged both of his parents. He could have cried out in joy. The horrors of his past were gone. _If love is truly what is going to stop Lord Voldemort, then I think it's safe to say that the world will soon be rid of evil forever._

----

A/N- Just so you guys know, I had all of this planned out from the beginning. Your reviews (which were quite hilarious to read, by the way) didn't affect it at all. Once again, I'm sorry I had to make it so short. And that you had to wait so long for me to update... Oh well.

THE END.

(There's not going to be a sequel, so don't bother to ask me for one. I might think of writing one sometime in the future.)


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